Safety-guard for street-cars



(No Model.) c. M. PRATT.

SAFETY GUARD'POR STREET CABS.

- N0. 564',027; v Patented July 14,1896,

UNITED STATES PATENT FFicE.

CHARLES MANVILLE PRATT, OF TOVANDA, PENNSYLVANIA.

SAFETY-GUARD FOR STREET-CARS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 564,027, dated July 14, 1896. Application filed April 15,1896. Serial No. 687,589. (No 1115.181.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CHARLES MANVILLE PRATT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Towanda, in the county of Bradford and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Safetyuards for Street-Oars; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon,which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to safety-guards for street-cars; and it consists of removable sections of wire-netting set in frames and placed along the sides of the car to screen the wheels, as hereinafter described and particularly claimed.

The object of my invention is while providing an efficient guard against contact with the wheels at the same time to construct such a guard in sections which are easily adjustable and removable, so as to permit separate parts of the truck and apparatus under the car to be easily repaired, to adapt the guards to different and suitable positions on the car-frame corresponding to the position of the Wheels, and to render access to the wheels always easy and convenient without removing the entire guard.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views. 7

Figure l is a side elevation of a car with my invention attached, a small portion being cut away to show inner parts; Fig. 2, a top plan view of the guard detached from the car, and Fig. 3, an enlarged vertical cross-section of the same.

Referring to the drawings, F is a vertical frame to be rigidly secured to the bottom of a car along the outside edges of its sides, with its ends curved inwardly at the platforms at the ends of the car. The frame F is provided gear its edges with top and bottom grooves P are sashes, each having a body or wirenetting N, and these sashes are set within the grooves G G of the frame F. The inner part of the sash-frame, forming the groove, should project above the groove to form a shoulder H, to prevent the sash from being'pushed in.

I prefer to make the upper groove G deeper than the lower groove, and to provide such groove with one or more springs S above each sash, so that on pushingup on the sash it is freed from the lower groove. It is evident, however, that the lower groove may be made the deeper one and the springs set in that, so that the sash may be removed by pushing it down into the lower groove. It is also apparent that the sashes can be independently removed from the grooves, and that after inserting the sashes therein they can be adjusted along said grooves. The lower edge of the grooved frame is provided with an elastic tube L. I prefer that this tube should be of the character described and claimed in my Patent No. 555,400, consisting of a tube stuffed with curled hair or equivalent material and provided with an inner pneumatic tube.

The curved ends K of the guard around and beneath the platforms are composed simply of the wire-netting and its supportingframe without the movable sashes.

As stated at the outset, the leading idea is to construct a guard composed of separate movable and adjustable sections or sashes of netting, which when assembled form a complete guard on both sides of the car, but which sections can be separately removed for repair or for access to the wheels.

Having thus described my invention,what I claim is-- 1. A car provided with a frame extending around the lower portion thereof, an elastic tube secured to the lower edge of said frame, and upper and lower grooves in said frame, in combination with a guard for said car composed of a fixed, curved section of network at each end of said car and separate, removable and adjustable sections of network supported in said grooves between said fixed sections, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

CHARLES MANVILLE PRATT.

Vitnesses:

E. B. PIERCE, NATHEM V. \VELLER. 

